have his own room. In the 16th century the space was divided into individual cells. In the 1930s the cell walls were demolished. Refectory The refectory was the room in which the monks had their meals every day. While they ate, one of the monks read aloud passages of the Bible from a pulpit, which in Alcobasa is embedded on one of the walls. The access to the pulpit is done through an arched gallery with a staircase. The pulpit is one of the most harmonious architectural structures of the monastery. Like the dormitory, the refectory has many pillars separating aisles and is covered by early gothic rib vaulting. Cloister of Silence The cloister of the monastery was built during the reign of, and sponsored by, King Dinis I. It is one of the largest mediaeval Cistercian cloisters in Europe. Its columns are decorated by capitals with animal and vegetal motifs. The builder was the Portuguese architect Domingo Domingues. The Gothic Fountain Hall has an elegant early Renaissance water basin inside, decorated with Renaissance motifs including the coat-of-arms of the monastery. The second floor of the cloister, in Manueline style as revealed by its typical twisted columns, was built in the early 16th century. Chapter House This room, where the monks gathered to discuss the daily matters concerning the monastery, was the most important room after the church. Their daily gathering began by listening to the reading of a chapter from the Rule of St Benedict. The entrance to the house is through a Romanesque-style portal with two similar windows on each side. The room is now filled with Baroque statues created by the monks for the main chapel of the church. Kitchen The kitchen of the monastery was built and covered with tiles in the mid-18th century. The central chimney is enormous, supported by eight iron columns. Water and fresh fish were diverted from the river Alcoa to the kitchen basin through a specially built canal. See also Monastery of Batalha Monastery of Santa Cruz Alcobasa Azulejo References Maria Augusta Pablo Trindade Ferreira. Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça. ELO-IPPAR. 2nd edition, 1993. Mosteiro de Alcobaça, Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico (Portuguese Institute for Architectural Heritage) Mosteiro de Alcobaça / Real Abadia de Santa Maria de Alcobaça (PDF), Direcção Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais (Portuguese General Bureau for National Buildings and Monuments) External links Description of the Monastery